Chapter 60 …
Counterattack
Elder Alan instinctively turned his body to the side. He could feel the heat rising from his stomach, along with his pheromones intensifying. It seemed that Duke Zeck had added a stimulant, which the Duchess had brought. Alan barely had time to marvel at Zeck’s quick thinking before swallowing a sigh. He had ended up drinking the same tea he had given to the Duchess.
As Alan stared at his cup, Eileen turned her head along with him.
“Is something wrong with the tea?”
Since the only thing Eileen had drunk was tea, she suspected it, and Alan’s Adam’s apple moved sharply with tension. If she were right, this could turn into a serious problem.
It was fortunate that Eileen, being a Beta, couldn’t sense pheromones. Forcing himself to appear calm, Alan spoke.
“No, nothing’s wrong. I just had a slight coughing fit.”
“Your face is red.”
“It will settle soon.”
“That’s good. If you had a coughing fit, you should drink more tea. Here.”
Eileen gently pushed the cup toward him. Reluctantly, Alan lifted it. He had to drink it in front of her, and with each sip, the heat in his body flared even more.
Seeing this, Eileen calmly tilted her own cup as if nothing had happened.
“If it’s just a minor fit, can we continue talking?”
“Yes.”
Alan had no choice but to continue speaking—he couldn’t send away the Duchess who had come seeking his advice. Following her encouragement, he kept drinking tea. As his pheromones spread inside him like wildfire, he began babbling without knowing exactly what he was saying.
“…That should do it.”
Wiping the cold sweat from his forehead, Alan finished speaking. His hands were visibly trembling now, and he wished the Duchess would leave quickly.
Even if a Beta drank the same tea, the effects would be minimal, so the urgent problem was Alan himself. As soon as she left, he planned to call anyone immediately for help.
“I’m glad I came to see you, Elder Alan.”
Eileen visibly brightened, clearly pleased that seeking him out had resolved what she couldn’t handle on her own.
“Then now…”
Alan was about to tell her it was time to leave.
“Elder Alan.”
A desperate voice knocked at the door. Alan snapped irritably.
“Yes? What is it?”
“A royal dispatch has arrived.”
“The royal palace?”
Alan frowned, uncertain who it might be from and displeased at the timing. He was just waiting for the Duchess to leave, and now things had gotten complicated.
“Sounds urgent. You should go.”
Eileen raised her cup and suggested he leave. Alan squinted slightly.
“I’ll finish this tea first.”
Eileen leisurely indicated the cup, drinking in front of him as a deliberate gesture.
“Very well.”
Alan finally stood. Despite the overwhelming heat and rising pheromones, there was no other choice.
Before he even left, his aide had begun speaking, noticed Eileen, and whispered softly.
“You need to head to the palace immediately.”
“Who could have sent it?”
“Well…”
Alan swallowed, seeing the aide quietly extend the dispatch.
“Prepare to enter the palace immediately.”
“Understood.”
Feeling his body sizzling with heat, Alan groaned in frustration. Zeck acted quickly, the Duchess had brought the tea, and now he had to go straight to the palace. Nothing about this situation was favorable.
Unable to calm his rising pheromones, Alan headed toward the palace, taking stabilizers along the way in an attempt to reduce the effects.
After Alan left, Eileen set down her cup without hesitation. She had deliberately drunk it earlier, so there was no reason to continue.
Having tried the stimulant herself, she was curious to see its effects next time.
Eileen murmured to herself, unheard by Alan:
“Since it’s my stimulant, there shouldn’t be serious side effects. But it did hit hard, so he won’t calm down easily.”
She had received a report from the head chef that Zeck had visited, and all the tea leaves he might have tampered with were set aside. Jane had replaced them with the leaves mixed with Eileen’s stimulant, all under Lloyd’s orders.
“Jane, can you clean this up?”
Once Jane diligently cleared the table, Eileen stood and stepped outside. She looked up at the shadow cast above her head.
“I was planning to come find you anyway.”
Eileen smiled subtly, hinting that her plan had succeeded. But Lloyd’s expression wasn’t happy. Arms crossed, he gave her a displeased look.
“This is why I didn’t want to let you go.”
Eileen wasn’t sure how to respond to Lloyd’s sudden grumble. The plan had gone perfectly—why was he sulking?
Lloyd reached out as if brushing dust from her cheek.
“You’ve got pheromones on you.”
“Oh.”
It was inevitable since she had used the stimulant.
Eileen couldn’t sense Alan’s pheromones anyway, so it didn’t bother her. She simply planned to wash it off and said,
“I’ll go wash up.”
“Wait.”
Lloyd cupped her cheeks and ears with his hands, covering her face. He said nothing, leaving Eileen standing awkwardly.
“Why are you…?”
She felt something unusual. The air, which had been full of fresh herbal scents, now felt heavy and dense.
‘Could it be…’
Was he releasing pheromones? If so, it was shocking. Betas couldn’t sense pheromones, but feeling the air itself become heavy suggested how potent his were.
He lightly rubbed her cheeks with his thumbs and let go.
“I’ve filled it with my pheromones. No need to wash.”
It wasn’t layered over Alan’s—it was so thorough that nothing of his remained.
“We’ll talk about the rest on the way.”
Lloyd began walking, and Eileen followed behind him.
“He took a cycle stabilizer with him. He intends to calm it on the way.”
Eileen grimaced slightly, aware of the pheromones enveloping her.
“It won’t be easy. The dosage was increased, and the composition changed slightly. There’s a substance called Sanicilin that turns red. I replaced it with something else, so it will react with the stabilizer.”
Even as she spoke, she was distracted by his pheromones and avoided direct eye contact.
“Ahem. Why isn’t this calming down yet?”
Elder Alan was an Alpha. When a cycle hit and he couldn’t release it properly, headaches followed—and right now, his head hurt so badly it made him dizzy.
“Are you alright?”
He hadn’t noticed the carriage had stopped. Pressing his head, Alan tried to stand. He had hoped the pain would subside along the way, but it had not lessened at all.
“Get more stabilizers. Quickly.”
“Understood.”
At the aide’s signal, a driver unhitched the horses to fetch the stabilizers from the Duke’s residence. But Alan’s expression remained grim.
He couldn’t just wait. Considering the temperament of whoever was waiting at the palace, he had to enter immediately.
“There’s no choice.”
Alan clicked his tongue once and stepped into the palace.
“Oh my.”
“Huff.”
As he walked, startled people moved aside. They covered their noses with handkerchiefs or sleeves to avoid the overwhelming pheromones.
“Such rudeness…”
Among them were royals. Lucid, the Emperor’s eldest son, frowned with displeasure at Alan’s unrestrained pheromones.
Lucid blocked Alan’s path, raising his voice.
“What on earth are you doing?”
“Ah, Your Highness Lucid.”
“What is this pheromone?”
“I apologize. It’s not by my will…”
“Then what is going on? If it’s a cycle, you shouldn’t be wandering around. Were you unaware of your own period?”
Lucid’s words were justified. Alpha cycles could trigger an Omega’s heat, and it was an unspoken rule to take care. But Alan had his own explanation.
“This isn’t a natural cycle…”
He had meant to explain that the cycle was artificially induced with the stimulant, but Lucid’s contemptuous gaze stopped him.
“What are you all doing? Take him to any room immediately.”
“Your Highness, please listen to me.”
“Resting is better right now.”
“I am Alan, Alan Vihart, elder of the Duke’s house…”
“Enough. Right now, suppressing this is more important than who you are. Excuses can wait.”
Alan tried desperately to explain, but Lucid would not listen. A nearby guard grabbed Alan’s arms and dragged him backward.
“Let go! Your Highness, please hear me!”
Alan’s shouts grew weaker as his voice faltered.
